The Eagle Slide vs. the Trap Dike

Eli Bickford and Phil Brown on the Eagle Slide. Photo by Carl Heilman.

By Phil Brown

Slide climbing has a long history in the Adirondacks. One of the first documented rock climbs in the country was the ascent of Mount Colden via the Trap Dike and slide overlooking Avalanche Lake. That was in 1850.

People differ on whether the Eagle Slide on Giant Mountain or the Trap Dike is the best slide climb in the Adirondacks. Both rate five stars in Adirondack Rock (the rock-climbing guidebook’s highest rating) even though theyaren’t usually regarded as technical climbs that require ropes.

I have done both more than once and can’t make up my mind. If forced to choose, I would argue that the Trap Dike isn’t a slide at all, though the route finishes on one.

A slide path is created when a heavy rainfall saturates the soil on a steep slope and washes off all or most of the vegetation. In contrast, the Trap Dike, a deep gash in the northwest side of Colden, was caused by differential erosion.

I climbed the Eagle Slide this week with Eli Bickford, a 12-year-old boy who summers in Keene Valley, and the photographer Carl Heilman, who took the spectacular photo shown above. I plan to write a detailed story for the Adirondack Explorer. When it appears, we’ll let you know. Meanwhile, click here to read a brief description of the Eagle.

The Explorer published a story on the Trap Dike last fall. Click here to read that one and see some photos.

If you have any ambition to climb either of these routes, bear in mind that a slip in the Trap Dike or on the Eagle could result in a dangerous fall. I learned that firsthand when I slid 20 feet down the Eagle, scraping the skin from my fingertips. It could have been much worse.

Both routes are regarded as fourth-class climbs in the Yosemite Decimal System, which is used to rate the difficulty of climbs. It defines fourth class as follows: “Simple climbing, with exposure. A rope is often used. Natural protection can be easily found. Falls may well be fatal.” It’s just a notch below technical rock climbing, usually undertaken with ropes, helmets, carabiners, and other protective gear.

If you haven’t climbed a slide before, you’d be smart to start with something easier. There are many to choose from. A good starter slide exists on a secondary summit of Kilburn Mountain in the Sentinel Range Wilderness. Even this has a steep wall at its foot, but this part can be bypassed by going into the woods on the left. The Kilburn slide can be reached by following an unofficial trail that begins on Route 86 across from the Monument Falls pull-off several miles east of Lake Placid.